newsroom. democracy in a war zone. afghan choosing their next president in an election punctuated by violence. a letter from senator ted kennedy. he wants to set the stage for his successor's quick appointment. cash for clunkers, looks like it is about to run out of gas. the government getting ready to announce an end of those rebates. good morning, everybody. i'm drew dprifen in today for tony harris. he will be back tomorrow. but right now you're in the "newsroom" at cnn. the polls have just closed and the big winner in afghanistan is democracy itself. defy the threat of taliban bombers risking everything just to cast their votes. our ivan watson is west of kabul in central bamiyan province. behind cardboard screens and in

dust caked tents. >> absolutely. it was pretty remarkable to see how people were voting here and you saw old men coming in turbines and white beards and women some in their burqas coming in to this polling center, estimated more than 5,000 at this location alone over the course of the day. behind me, drew, you may be able to see the counting process under way by battery-powered lanterns. very little electricity across afghan territory. this province also being one of the, i mean, the election and we can see those much higher than at least 30 other opposition candidates, perhaps second place coming in a man name who ran a remarkable campaign. he campaigned out of his tent

near kabul and he really railed against what he called corruption against harmid karzai who was the president for the last seven years. a rocket fired in the town north of the province, but elections were able to go on fairly peacefully. all the polling centers were open and we were getting reports that there were seriously flashes in the province east of here, drew. further to the east, an american soldier was killed by a deadly mortar strike. that's just one of the series of incidents that took place across much more dangerous parts of southern and eastern afghanistan on what was supposed to be a historcal presidential vote. drew? >> we are starting to get some reports coming in about the violence. ivan, i wanted to ask you, for the people in the u.s., you know, this ask looking eerily similar to what was going on in iraq several years ago. we were hoping that each vote would take us closer to peace and take us closer to leaving iraq at that time.

now, afghanistan. 800 troops killed in the eight-year led war. does it look like the effort there is paying off? >> well, it's a very good question. this is the second presidential election in afghan history. in 2004 there was a previous election and harmid karzai was elected president and there were incidents of violence and the taliban just wasn't as strong. its revolt in the countryside wasn't as powerful and it could not have claimed to have shadow governments and shadowed courts operating in territories that it controlled and hundreds of polling centers that weren't able to open because of this threat. now, what we've seen change over the past several years, in addition to the taliban insurgency growing is the commitment from the international community. it, too, has grown. we have seen the number of u.s. troops on the ground, drew, double since last year. aid money coming in has also increased dramatically. we're seeing more diplomats from

washington being stationed and even in provinces. so, it seems the u.s. government and the international community is taking much more seriously this afghan project. question is, what will happen down the road? a lot of policymakers that i talked to are saying that it's too early to say how this so-called civilian search, this surge in aid and troops on the ground, it will take some time for that to really start to sink in. a lot of people say many crucial years were lost in the first years of this project after the overthrow of the taliban in 2001, drew. >> ivan watson there watching the ballot count by battery light. impressive shot. great reporting and we'll look for the results, i guess, in the coming hours and perhaps days there. what's at stake? let's go to cnn's anderson cooper who spoke with our security analyst peter bergen. >> this entire project, the international community is engaged in. if the selection goes off fairly

well, many of the naysayers will be shown not to be correct. the main indicator to look for, anderson, voter turnout. karzai is going to win this election in the first round or the second round and that's a virtual certainty but if voter turnout is significant on the day, certainly about 50% or 60% or something like that, i think that sends a message that the afghan population were not intimidated by the taliban. were actively engaged in this very important election. >> well, it's still very early and observers from about 30 different groups who are monitoring the election. we're told that voting, especially in the kabul province went fairly smooth but also some reports now trickling in about violence across that country. we'll keep following this. while afghans were voting, iraqis were trying to stop the bleeding a day after a string of bombings killed at least 100 people in baghdad and wounded 500 more. the government put new security measures in place, all six

bombings took place within an hour. they marked the country's deadliest day since u.s. combat troops pulled out of iraqi cities. that was two months ago. since then, security has been in the hands of the iraqis. well, 11 high-ranking iraqi and army official os have been detained now for investigation. an intriguing look today inside the bush administration anti-terror tactics. sources say the cia hired private assassins to capture or kill al qaeda figures. let's check with cnn's pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, i suspect most people have heard of the firm that was hired. >> most people have, indeed, drew. that name keeps coming back blackwater. . the private security contractor firm that became so controversial for its work in iraq and it has a lot of intelligence work around the world. here's what we know. a source very familiar with the program confirms to cnn that

blackwater was hired by the cia back in 2004 for this program that involved training, surveillance and, yes, indeed, the ultimate goal of targeted killing of top al qaeda leaders. now, what we also know is that at some point blackwater was no longer involved in the program, but the program went on. it ebbed and flowed through varusious phases and earlier this year it was moving towards what is described as the next phase. essentially becoming operational. it was at that point that cia director leon panetta, under president obama, canceled the program for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is it hadn't been notified to congress. now, the previous cia director, general mike hayden didn't acknowledge the program today, but he spoke a good deal earlier today in washington about this notion of private contractors. >> keep in mind that surrogates

come in a variety of flavors. and that an intelligence service like cia has the ability to choose among those flavors for different missions. so, please, keep that in mind. not everything the agency had done is black and white contractor government employee. but i'll end this point by simply saying even when something is done by surrogates on your behalf, you are as responsible for it as if it was being done by a government employee. >> were we really talking about rogue element? well, general hayden says, no, that if this was going on, that it would have been government oversight and responsibility. but the source we spoke to said this program was really looked at as being a contractor effort for the very reason it would distance the u.s. government from this assassination activ y activity. drew? >> but, barbara, once again at the end of the day, a lot of politics involved with this discussion, as you know, it

feeds into a lot of political elements here. but at the end of the day, another program that never went operational and five years has been languishing around and did it accomplish anything whether it be considered good or bad? >> we don't actually know the answer to that. all indications are from people we've spoken with was that no one was captured or killed under this specific program and that it never actually went into play. because while it could have been a benefit to the government by keeping distance, it also had a lot of problems, sources tell us, because of that very issue of putting american-backed contractors into other countries with the mission to assassinate people. if they got caught, if something went wrong, boy, that becomes a big problem to admit it and get those people out of there. very tough business. >> barbara, thanks. thanks for the perspective on

that. moving along to a story that has out raged a lot of people. the man who brought down pan am flight 103 over lockerbie, scotland, 20 years ago, he was sent free today. scotland sent that man there al megrahi home to libya after just eight years in prison. why? scottish authorities say the former libyan intelligent agent has terminal prostate cancer and now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power. the obama administration fiercely opposed what you're seeing right now, this man's released. 270 people were killed when that jetliner was blown out of the sky. getting all kinds of response to the release of al megrahi. on our blogs and twitter pages. josh levs joining us with what some of you are saying. >> as you were just saying right there, let me tell everyone about a website that is very interesting. zoom into the screen behind me

and this is it. victims different ofpanamflight103.org. a very long list, you can learn about the people whose lives were so tragically cut short. you were mentioning a lot of people weighing in. they are, indeed. on the blogs cnn.com/josh. i lost a friend in the bombing of pan am 1303 by freeing that mass murderer the authorities have give an slap in the face to the family and friend of those 270 people who died that day. let's get to a couple more here. bob in tulsa is saying that he now gets to go home and spend his last weeks in comfort surrounded by his friend and families and the victims were not aaccorded the same treatment. janice says she understands the rules in scotland but since the passengers came from 21 countries, this decision should have come from the hague. keeping him in prissen to die is not justice and will not bring the victims back or their

families peace. we're looking forward to hearing from you, whatever your views are on this, feel free to weigh in. joshlevs.cnn. i will be camped out here following people's reactions and check out cnn.com for a lot of people information backgrounds and check out the victims. >> josh, thanks a lot. an unexpected jump in jobless claims. the number of americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits climbed for the second straight wreak. surprising economists. here to break down the numbers, christine romans in new york. christine, what's going on here? more signs of a jobless recovery? >> yeah, these are layoffs in manufacturing, construction, trade, that's what really boosted the number here. the three states that saw the largest increases in people filing, drew, for the first time unemployment benefits were north carolina, tennessee and wisconsin. the economists thought maybe we'd be able to see some sort of a bottoming in the weekly numbers and you're not seeing it in this one.

think of that. that's half a million people in just a week for the first time finding them selves out of work and filing for unemployment benefits. the total number of people on the jobless rolls, the people it's not the first time they filed and they have been getting benefits now and on the jobless rolls. 6.24 million, i want you to think about that for a second. that's basically, the metro area of baltimore is 2.7 million. that's more than twice, almost three times the number of people in a big city like baltimore across the country who are out of work. who are getting unemployment benefits and millions more whose benefits have run out. so, it just gives you a size, a look at the scope of this problem. now, some important information for you if you're staring at a pink slip here. employment attorneys say that if you just lost your job, there's a couple things you have to do. you have to make sure your departure is characterized completely without fault and legally without cause

termination. you need that to get jobless benefits and you also need that if you're going ahead and looking for another job somewhere else. something important to make sure, the detinction between being fired and a layoff and get paperwork to make sure you leave so you got that so it smooths the transition for jobless benefits. and, also, an employment attorney tells us, counsels us if you're in a situation where it looks like there is layoffs can you keep me on for four weeks more or six weeks more, just try to stretch it out for the health benefits, give you a little bit more time. you can claim how you can help the business winding down what you're doing right now. it doesn't hurt to ask, just try and see if you can get a little bit of extra time. it will help cushion the blow. one last thing, drew, if you are on unemployment, if you get unemployment benefits, you qualify for cobra under the stimulus act. that insurance and there are subsidies now for people to help you pay for that, for that cobra

insurance and at some point it will run out. i would encourage people to take a close look at that. they doubled the number of people applying, enrolling for cobra just since the stimulus was passed because now that people are unemployment they can qualify for cobra and a way to make sure you have health insurance in the interim. just some things to think of to pult some advice in with these numbers. >> i know, christine, but like you, i'm sure you're tired of telling people how to deal with unemployment. we want to get those jobs back. i know you'll be back talking later in the hour, but i'll ask you about that. stimulus and the car manufacturing jobs coming back. where are these jobs? hold that thought, christine. this is not easy to talk about senator ted kennedy may be dying and now we realize he may know it. the letter he has now sent to insure massachusetts has two votes in the u.s. senate, even if one is not his.

they say imports always get the best mileage. well, do they know this malibu offers an epa estimated 33 mpg highway? they never heard that. which is better than a comparable toyota camry or honda accord? they're stunned. they can't believe it. they need a minute. i had a feeling they would. there's never been more reasons to look at chevy.

an update on hurricane bill, a category 3 storm. the latest now from the national hurricane center. winds of 120 miles per hour and decrease of intensity just a little bit and the eye itself not as organized tas was this time yesterday. and the forecast is for it to continue on its northwesterly track and eventually go northeasterly. let's check it out. forecast track from the national hurricane center. it does have it intensifying to a category 4 and notice that the extreme new england coastline getting close to that cone of uncertainty so you are not going

to rest easy and everybody on the east coast will experience big-time waves this weekend. so, if you're going to the beach, be careful of dangerous rip currents. all right, here's what's going on around the rest of the country. serious weather yesterday in minnesota, parts of illinois, damaging winds. we had 18 reports of tornadoes yesterday. here's where your front is. all that energy heading off to the east and that is where we expect to see thunderstorms develop and severe in places like ohio down through kentucky and maybe even tennessee. 85 degrees in atlanta, 85 as well in new york and cooler 85 degrees in chicago. want to point out one thing, you can go to our website, cnn.com/hurricanes. newly juiced up and very user friendly interface here. you can get pretty much everything we have here in the severe weather center with the satellite track there and also the forecast track. you can animate that and you can even, if you're a real weather geek, go to some of our computer models and see how they ramp up throughout the day. throughout the day. that's the latest from here.

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health care an for ted kennedy and he wants provisions for a speedy replacement if he has to surrender the senate seat. in it he says serving in the senate "has been and still is the greatest honor of my public life." senior congressional correspondent dana bash joins us from washington.

dana, you talked about this yesterday in talking about passing this health care and democrats are concerned about his vote. what's going on here? what does the senator want to do? >> here's what's going on, drew, massachusetts law allows a five-month vacancy before a special election if a senator should die or resign. senator kennedy wants that change so that there is an interim replacement. and the reason is, just as you said it, health care reform. he calls it the cause of a 47-year life in the united states senate and he wants it to be his legacy. sources tell us that the ailing kennedy is in tough shape and he knows how to count votes the way nobody does in the senate. he's well aware the democrats are struggling for every single vote on health care this fall and he wants to make sure if he can't be there, somebody else will. that's why he wrote this letter. i'll read you some of what he wrote to the governor and leaders in massachusetts. he wrote, i strongly support that law, the law allowing for a special election and the principal that the people should elect their senator.

i also believe it is vital for this common wealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election. now, drew a kennedy source tells me that the senator has been having quiet conversations about this for some time and knowing that it was going to get out, he decided to make his efforts public by signing this letter. that happened this week. >> dana, this is not without politics involved, right? this same issue came up when there was a republican governor in the office and they decided not to do it. >> exactly. you know, as sad as this is that he had to send this letter, this is not the first time that states have had to deal with what happens to the succession and particularly this state and it's a little bit ironic that this is happening now, drew, because the law that says that there's a special election but not for five months, it was put in place just a few years ago, in 2004. why? because there was another senator, the other senator from massachusetts john kerry, he was running for president and there was a republican governor, mitt

romney. and democrats were worried that if john kerry were to win mitt romney would be able to appoint a republican and do that through the end of senator kerry's term. that's why this was changed and it is a bit ironic now that the other democratic senator, the senior democratic senator from massachusetts wants to change it again. >> and medically speaking, dana, he's very sick. he didn't show up for the funeral. >> yeah. >> and there's no way, at this point, he can get to washington for a vote. is that right? >> he had not when the senate was in session, he had not been in the senate for quite some time. i think it was probably a couple months that we did not see him. he in the spring was in washington for a big gala that i was actually lucky enough to attend at the kennedy center where people were honoring him for his birthday, but much since then, he hasn't been back here. as you mentioned, he didn't even go to his own sister's funeral and they hold their cards very

close to the vest in terms of the real story with his health. but, you know, the reality is when he was diagnosed a year ago may he wasn't given much time, so, if you look at the facts and figures he is on borrowed time now and what we do know is that it is pretty clear that he is in tough shape. >> dana, thanks for that. the undercurrent here is health care. but still ahead, why it may be the end of the road for cash for clunkers. people are on sprint mobile broadband. 31 are streaming a sales conference from the road. eight are wearing bathrobes. two... less. - 154 people are tracking shipments on a train. - ( train whistles ) 33 are im'ing on a ferry. and 1300 are secretly checking email... - on a vacation. - hmm? ( groans ) that's happening now. america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com.

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looks like that cash for clunkers program was a limited time offer and may be out of time. christine romans joins us at the business desk in new york. christine, is it done? is it a done deal? >> we'll know within the next 36

hours, drew, whether this thing is done for good. a lot of the dealers are already pulling out because people haven't been reimbursed yet for all the money that they're due for these clunkers deals. so, many of them are pulling out. the dealer association is telling the car dealers, look, we don't think you should extend any more of these offers because we're not convinced you're going to get paid for it if the program is ended quickly. the department of transportation says the department will be paid. what this all means is that we're nearing the end of the road for this thing. this is headed for the scrap heed pretty soon here. we know a lot of deals have already been done. some 457,000 cash for clunkers deals so far. $1.96 billion worth of claims and the d.o.t. has said about the dealers concern that they're not going to get paid back that they're going to get their money. there will be no car dealer that won't be reimbursed, but many of the car dealers and many of the people who study this like

edmonds.com, respected car tracker, they say you've seen three waves now of buyers. the people who waited and waited and for the program to start and then got in there the savvy buyers, really, the mass market buyers who got in the next wave and responded to the advertising on tv and the late participants of people who couldn't find their title or couldn't get their paperwork together. now what is the next wave after this one, they don't think there is a lot of demand out there. all the people who wanted to do cash for clunkers, most of them, at least, have already been processed and this thing is going to wind down pretty quickly. if you have the clunker in the garage, you need to find a dealer here pretty soon. i mean like today and get that done because this looks like it's winding down pretty quickly. >> all right, christine, interesting to see if there is going to be a post-clunker slump in the car dealers being made out there. we will keep an eye on that going forward. speaking of going forward, what would it look like with health care reform without. some say massachusetts will thoeld key.

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becoming a real problem 6.25 million people in america without a job, this jobless recovery that we're talking about really can't be a recovery at all without those jobs, can it? >> no. i think, you know, drew, you know, we're at this critical stage here where i think that we have seen some signs of improvement. starting right here. and with the stock market in march. what were investors responding to? they were responding to improvement in the housing market and manufacturing. yes, when you have 6.25 million americans continuing to draw unemployment and, remember, that's a low ball number, drew. there are people who have just simply dropped out and are not collecting any benefits at all. that's the problem. why is that? they don't spend. we have the latest evidence of that today. fears, the big retail operators saying that it lost nearly $95 million in the last quarter and people aren't spending on

discretionary itdms and also having problems making their mortgage payments. another report today. this from the american bankers' association saying 13% of the people, if surveyed of homeowners surveyed were either late on their payments or in foreclosure and what's particularly worrisome about this number is one in three were more stable borrowers with fixed rates, not subprime like we saw it a year ago, adjustable rates. these are better borrowers and it just goes to show the evolution of the housing prices. still a problem when consumers, when we are out of work. >> yeah, we're trying to look for any silver lining here. i mean, the numbers are bad, not as bad as they were some months ago, but is that really positive at this point or are we just at a level of jobs where, you know, these companies have to exist on a bear minimum of people working? >> that's the way you have to look at it. certainly the stock market responded to it when things were not getting worse or things were

bottoming. yes, we did see layoffs seem to hit their peak in early january. but, we do need to improve this. no question about it. we had a high number of initial claims and 6.25 million for continuing claims and a new report on forecast of economic activity and it showed growth, drew, for the fourth straight month but at a slower pace. the biggest problem in this leading economic indicator report was consumer confidence. so, it all comes around to that. and we're seeing stock markets rally today. but, yeah, we still, we still have a big problem with jobs. >> susan lisovicz, stocks up today, i don't know what that means for anybody without a job but something to say positive. heth care reform with no option. many liberal democrats say that's not reform at all, but some health care experts point to massachusetts as a model for reform with no public option.

cnn's jim acosta takes a close look at what they're calling romney care. >> good, thank you, good to see you. >> reporter: if washington wants to reform health care with bipartisan support, consider what former republican presidential candidate mitt romney did as governor and democratic massachusetts. >> you don't have to have a public option. >> reporter: three years after enacting its own version of reform, massachusetts has now near universal coverage. taxpayer watchdogs say it's universal. >> it's breaking the bank in massachusetts. >> reporter: is it? >> it's not breaking the bank at all, not even costing much at all relative to what we were spending four years ago. >> reporter: and health care experts say it's popular. >> 7 in 10 people in the state support the program and no more than 1 in 10 would repeal it. >> reporter: unlike democratic proposals that would give americans the choice of a government-run health care plan,

massachusetts has no public option. instead, people in the state are mandated to buy private insurance. analysts say romney care is basically obama care minus the public option. >> the president drops the public option, will you come out and support him? >> depends on what's in the rest of the bill. >> reporter: romney says democrats only have themselves to blame for those rowdy town hall meetings. >> i think any time you're dealing with people's health care and their ability to choose their doctor, their ability to decide what kind of health care plan they want, you're going to find people are going to respond very emotionally. >> reporter: as for the other former governor's debunked claim that reform would lead to death panels. what did you think when you heard governor palin talking about death panels? >> i haven't read that into the bill. >> reporter: you think it is okay for the governor of alaska to talk about death panels and pulling the plug on grandma. >> i will not tell people what they can and cannot talk about.

>> reporter: partisanship is the only road to health care reform. >> on an issue that is so emotional and so important to all americans is to go through the lengthy process of working on a bipartisan basis. he promised that. >> reporter: the massachusetts bottle does have its problems. experts say it does not control rising health care costs. something mitt romney admits has to be tackled on a national level. jim acosta, cnn, boston. well, one of the big reasons that everybody seems to want health care reform is to cover those people who are uninsured, but how many people are uninsured? the truth squad taking a look at that question and leading the truth squad are josh levs joins us with that. josh, we hear these wild numbers. 46 million walking around with no health care and no insurance and 8 million is the real number. what is the number? >> that's exactly why i wanted to pop in here right now. this is something we have been following for a while and something i want to show you.

first, the background. let's go to this graphic. now, the u.s. census does say this, i spoke with the census. there's a report that says 45.7 million were uninsured for all of 2007. what most people do not realize, it's on the next screen here. the same report from the census says that 46 million also says it's probably lower than that. that same report says health insurance is likely to be underreported. i spoke with the census and they said, yes. that means most likely it is underneath 46 million even for them. now, here's what's new today. the cnn truth squad has take an look at this, having heard something you just referred to, drew. a lot of people at town halls say it's actually only 8 million. let's now go to what the truth squad is saying and have them take a look at this very quickly. the basic idea here, you have an organization, you can see it right there pacific research institute a think tank that pushes health care reform and they're studying this 2003 study and they say when you take out the people who are just short

term without it and people who would be illegal immigrants and don't have access to it and people who could afford it and various other factors it boils down to 8 million. you can get more info but in the end, our verdict is right here. and had to go with in dispute on this one. as i was pointing out, even the census itself says it can't be sure. that's why at these events there's such a big range of people using these numbers. if we had the exact number we'd give it to you. in the meantime, hear more claims out there, drew. >> just going to drive people more crazy, josh. we're arguing about a bill and we are arguing about numbers and we don't know what the numbers are. >> you want to go door to door with me? >> sure. think about this, josh, what is the one phrase you're tired of hearing? >> absolutely. >> our i-reporters will sound off with theirs absolutely next. d

we'll lighten it up a little bit. any words or phrases that drive you crazy? maybe a few annoying ones you use yourself. cnn.com has been collecting them for us. producer joining us from cnn.com at the i-report desk. i can't stand, tyson, when people mispronounce, especially, but i cannot stand the word funds for money. funds. >> is that one that you use, by chance? >> no. when i talk about taxpayer funds, i say the money that congress took out of my back

pocket, instead of funds. >> what we're finding, i'm just as guilty as anybody who has participated in this. i use actually a lot and i'll be using probably a million times in this hit and i say the word awesome probably 100 times a day and, really, i say it probably so much that it kind of lost its meaning and that's really the behind this project that we've been doing. really fantastic. we have been asking i-reporters what are the words that you hear that are overused and so tired of hearing them and maybe they've lost their meaning and what we did we heard back, we heard so many wonderful responses that our i-report intern this summer took a lot of these responses and he matched the audio in a really cool way. he made an animation matching the words and hand-drawn illustration and we're not going to play the whole thing, but play just a little bit of it. watch it and tell me what you think. >> that's sick. that annoys me because it has so many meanings.

sick and gross and fever and cold and sick is the coolest thing in the world when it's really not and it just gets confusing because sometimes you can say something like that's sick and it can be sick in growth or someone can say that's sick and it can be cool. it doesn't make any sense. >> my two least favorite words are kool-aid drinkers and haters. whenever anyone talks about obama and they don't agree with anything he is trying to implement they call you a kool-aid drinker or a hater, using the word hateser childish. they should come up with a legitimate debate. >> okay, so, it's really cool. we invite you to go to cnn.com/ireport where you can watch the rest of the video. there is a lot of other great words that people are using and, you know what, why don't you tell thus word that you are so tired of using. a lot of great responses and i

promise, i will try to stop saying ostoom describe everything, but, to be honest, this video is awesome. >> thanks, tyson. my producer is telling me another word that i don't like, wrap. we'll move on. you can see it all on cnn.com. the mexican drug cartel is being dealt a crippling blow. enough to stop the drugs and crime from spreading across the u.s.? but with the strength of zyrtec ® , the fastest, 24-hour allergy relief, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. with zyrtec ® i can love the air ™ . my name is chef michael.

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u.s. attorney general eric holder just minutes ago now announcing dozens of new indictments of leaders of dozens of high-ranking cartel members. these are mexican drug cartels accused of distributing massive amounts of drugs into major u.s. cities over almost over two decades, specifically chicago and brooklyn. and they're talking about $5.8 billion in cash proceeds they're going to try to seize here. many of those charged already being hunted by u.s. and mexican authorities. so, i guess they're not in custody, just indictment. a surprising new city emerging in all this staging ground for the deadly mexican drug trade in the u.s. for that, we turn to cnn's brooke baldwin.

>> reporter: drugs, weapons and cold hard cash. it's a lethal combination fuelling the mexican drug cartels and according to the drug enforcement to the drug enforcement administration, now a new city has emerged as the staging grounds for this deadly trade. >> metro atlanta is a hub for businesses in the southeast. it's also a hub of operations for mexican organized crime. >> reporter: atlanta, prime real estate for drug distribution according to the dea's top atlanta agent, ronnie vincent. he agreed to take cnn on a special aerial tour to illustrate how these deals go down. starting with the southern cities, web of freeways. >> you can go east, west, north, south from metro atlanta. moving shipments and drugs from the southwest border, move all the way up the eastern seaboard. >> reporter: before that can happen, the driver must wait here, at truck stops just like this one, often in broad daylight. >> truck driver arriving in to a place like this, will then wait. it could be as soon as an hour. it could be two or three days.

then they'll receive instructions. >> reporter: next the driver heads to a warehouse. vincent says there is plenty to pick from in atlanta. there the drugs are parcelled out and sent to dealers throughout the u.s. but the drivers aren't done. they use this same truck to smuggle money and guns back into mexico. in 2008, atlanta led the nation with $70 million in confiscated cash according to the dea, and last september, federal agents, along with local law enforcement, rounded up 34 members of mexico's gulf cartel in the atlanta area alone. part of a nationwide effort called "project reckoning." if you think drug cartels are keeping their high-dollar drug operations in the gritty inner city, think again. the dea says they prefer the suburbs. they move in a quiet, middle-class neighborhood just like this one, where they set up shop, stockpiling drugs and cash, before distributing them. last july, a group of men with cartel connections lured a rhode

island drug dealer to this gwinnett county home. they chained him, beat him, and held him hostage, demanding he pay $300,000, they say he owed. the dea raided the home before it was too late. >> there's no doubt in my mind that if we didn't act when we did, he would have been dead. >> reporter: three men got caught, and pleaded guilty, but the rest escaped. vincent says the explosive growth of hispanic immigrants in metro atlanta is yet another reason why mexican cartels come here. allowing them to blend in and disappear. enabling this deadly drug trade to rage on, spreading roots in this southern city. brooke baldwin, cnn, atlanta. atlanta's mayor is shirley franken. she says she's aware that drug trafficking in the inner city, but like brooke pointed out, the majority of this crime isn't happening in downtown, but the greater metro atlanta area. local law enforcement in atlanta working with the dea, but the officers all agree, atlanta is

now the number one hub on the east coast for this kind of activity. so, how do those drug cartels impact crime across the u.s.? josh levs looking in to that for the next hour in the "newsroom." and he'll also detail the key players in these cartels and the status of each of those. we're also going to bring you the story of a very sick 12-year-old girl from california. state budget cuts threatening to take away her home health care. jessica's story, the struggle to survive california's financial crisis. and collecting money owed? desperate debt collectors, posing as attorneys, even law enforcement officers. this is disturbing tactic of some collection agencies, and efforts to stop them. all that ahead in our noon hour. ♪ need a lift?

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today's presidential election in afghanistan is helping shape that nation for the next generation. u.s. forces doing their part there, too, here's chief international correspondent, christiane amanpour, this report prepared for her cnn documentary, "generation islam." >> reporter: it's an incredible sight, row upon row of schoolchildren, organized into neat, outdoor classes. >> one. >> one. >> two. >> two. >> three. >> three. >> reporter: several thousands students diligently counting in english. >> ten. >> ten. >> reporter: even at this age, they know that they want to communicate with the rest of the world. i've never seen anything like this, all these children outside, almost like classes, open air. >> translator: it's difficult for them to study when their brains are boiling. >> reporter: the education director, khan, says that in his

district alone, 33,000 students are now studying outside in the sun. amir john is an afghan interpreter. >> if you have schools, it's very important. our kids, they can get education in the future. they will understand who is our enemy and who is our friend. >> amir jan -- >> yes, sir. >> tell them these supplies are from american students much like themselves. >> reporter: dolling out pens and pencils, dressed in full combat gear, the major is trying his best to meet the needs here. he believes the children are the key to winning over their parents and eventually this war. >> if we can sway the civilian population and show them that we're here to support their children, then they are going to in turn not support the bad guys that come in here. >> reporter: just days before we arrived, the bad guys had attacked. tell me what happened.

>> um, encountered the ied, destroyed one of the vehicles. two of my men was fired on sight. the other two got to the hospital but they didn't make it. ♪ >> reporter: this brand new school was also built by major knor's unit, his commander, lieutenant colonel kobasky, has come to call class in to session. for the first time in their lives, these children will sit at proper desks. the looks on their faces say it all. i want to ask them what they think of this class. are they happy about the classroom? >> they say, "yeah, of course." >> reporter: but before the

americans pull out, the lieutenant colonel wants the villages to understand the high price his men have paid. >> three days ago, i lost four men -- who were killed because they were trying to build a school just like this one. all of you here will face a choice, a choice between your government who asked us for help, to help build this school, and the enemy of afghanistan, who offer only destruction. >> next month, september, christiane is going to debut a new program focused on international issues. "amanpour." it's going to begin sunday, september 27th, at 2:00 p.m. eastern. we hope you'll tune in for that. well, you can call this america's third war front. we're talking about the war against drug cartels in mexico. u.s. attorney general eric holder today revealed a dozen new indictments against several leaders, dozens of high-ranking

cartel officials. those civilians are not necessarily targeted, thousands of died have died in drug-related cross fire, and just this week shootouts in two mexican industries near the u.s. borders. left two people wounded and at least four people dead. >> today we are announcing in a coordinated action, major drug trafficking charges against 43 individuals, including cartel leaders, members, and associated in 2 federal districts in 12 indictments. specifically we allege that these defendants shipped multiton quantity of narcotics into the united states through various established smuggling corridors and then through a network of affiliate distributors, disbursed the drugs into cities and neighborhoods around the country. >> cnn.com explains how the violence is impacting u.s. communities, and our josh levs have been looking in to that. josh? >> this is one of the most

impressive spreads on cnn.com of any topic at all. let's zoom right in. because i want to show you some of the features to show why people will be affected by it so much. obviously a lot of video. if you click over here, "key cartel players." we trace you through who some of the figures are, you can learn the status, what's happened to them. you can search on last name or if you click down here, you can skip ahead to someone and it will tell you who is part of which organization, which cartel, all right here, cnn.com. now, as we were mentioning, a lot of video. we also have maps that show you where some of the cartels are in mexico. but one of the most striking things is right here, this map of the united states. let's zoom right in to this. everywhere that you see a white mark on this entire map, that is a place in which officials are saying mexican drug cartels now have a presence. every single one. if you take a look at some of the red marks, i'll click on one, for example, you can actually click on it, and it will bring you to some information about that specific city. for example, this talks about some crime that was happening in birmingham as a result of what is believed to be the mexican

drug cartel's increasing reach. now, while we're taking a look at this, go over here. this is something we were talking about, that talked about how more and more kidnappings are being seen in various cities right now. this was one of our reporters, elliott mclaughlin, that spent some time, phoenix, arizona, the nation's kidnapping capital with more than one reported there daily since 2007. what he does here, he traces you through how the kidnappings are taking place in u.s. cities, why they are taking place, what authorities are attempting to do about it, and how sometimes it doesn't play out the way they want it to and in many cases people are ultimately freed as part of this big money game that's going on there. what we have there really is an extensive look at how the mexican drug cartels are extending their reach more and more into the united states, impacting communities that you might not think are there. in fact, we trace you through some suburban areas, look like average suburban homes. meanwhile things are going on underground, in basements, there have been shootings more and more often linked to those

cartels. as we hear this news now that might be a little bit of a success in the battle against them, it's important to remember that this is kind of a growing monster for the united states, and an increasing matter of importance for the obama administration. >> right. we should also point out the money involved here, josh, huge. they are talking in this indictment $5.8 billion, and $5.8 billion in cash proceeds. >> sure. >> most likely coming from americans who are using and buying these drugs. >> look it, a lot is u.s. money, absolutely. and also keep in mind, it's also the weapons trade. when you're hearing about the drugs kind of working their way across the border, uh also hear about weapons working their way across the border. both of these at the same time have kind of become one big battle for the united states to face. this sa reminder. let me go back to the map for just a second. i mean, look at this. every time you're seeing one of these cities, it's another one that's being affected. it's been growing. over 200. i'm just going to say it again, every white mark is a city in the united states with a

presence of mexican drug cartels and growing. there you go, you can't get a more stark realization than that about how important it is for this country. >> thanks, josh. it is shocking. this is shocking, too, the man who brought down pan am flight over lockerbie, scotland is letting him go. abdel baset ali al megrahi after just eight years in prison is now a free man. scottish authorities say he has terminal prostate cancer. they say they're showing compassion and sending him home to die. presumably with his family. the obama administration fiercely opposed the release. 270 people were killed when that pan am jetliner was blown out of the sky. here's cnn's diana megnay in scotland. >> reporter: this was the crater left by the 747 airliner that was pan am flight 103 brought over the small scottish town of lockerbie, in 1988 by a

terrorist bomb in the cargo part of the plane. in these memorial gardens, it's hard to imagine the carnage, but george stobs who was one of the first policemenman on the scene remembers it vividly. >> the doors were bombing and it was like hell. i remember also, like, see a wrought iron gate and in the distance, and i could see it, it was actually dripping like molten butter. drip, drip, dripping away. >> reporter: all 259 people on board the flight, most of them americans on their way home for christmas, were killed. as were 11 residents of the town. the debris from the wreckage scattered over a vast area. we're three miles from the actual crash site at lockerbie here, but this is where the nose cone landed. and between here and the tip of the horizon, they found 120 bodies. search teams combed 845 square miles for clues as to what brought the plane down, a trail

which led scotland's criminal justice system to a libyan businessman and suspected int intelligence officer. abdel baset ali al megrahi. >> the houses that were here were destroyed. >> reporter: john was never entirely convinced was the man that destroyed his neighbors' home. but the politics behind the bombing were a distance memory to this town. >> the politics of the middle east were and still are immensely complicated. the ordinary citizen has no means of judging these things. >> reporter: george stobbs said most lockerbie residents don't care who is behind it. >> they're not interested in the politics of the thing, they just want to go on with their life. and i think lockerbie has gotten to that stage now. >> reporter: 270 people from 21 nations met their death in these beautiful hills and in the backyards of lockerbie. 20 years later, homes are rebuilt. the events of that terrible night are buried here, but not

forgotten. >> a lot of people want to speak out about this. we're asking what you think about lockerbie's bomber's release on our website and our blog. you can share your views when you go to cnn.com/newsroom. that was a sampling of the responses we've gotten so far. this from michael. he writes -- he's being shown more compassion than he showed his victims. that's very common. this from joanne -- they should drop the bomber off somewhere over libya. and here's what paul in britain has to say -- america is a bully. always think it's good to get its way. the law is scott icial law, butt out hillary clinton. one finger in the air at usa. you know what, i'm not sure what that all means, but anyway. washington has been closely watching afghans vote in the national elections today. afghan officials say 26 people were killed during election-day violence, despite that they're calling the vote a success. many afghans had to defy a threat from taliban bombers to cast their votes. security there been very high. our ivan watson is in the

central bamiyan province where the votes are now being counted, inside tents. >> reporter: election workers are counting the ballots by battery-powered lamp light. this just underscores how difficult and complicated it's been to hold this $223 million election in one of the world's poorest and least developed countries. with very few paved roads, very little electricity and spotty telecommunications. on top of that, an electorate that has a large number of illiterate people who had to identify their candidates by symbols, rather than by their written names. on top of that, there is the deadly taliban insurgency that has raged in southern and eastern afghanistan, and increasingly in northern afghanistan, and has been challenging this election, declaring that if the election should not be held at all, and carrying out violent attacks as well. and one american soldier killed in eastern afghanistan by a mortar strike, reports of other deadly clashes as well.

and even here, in afghanistan's bamiyan province, long considered one of the safest parts of this country, one rocket was fired at a town in the north of the province, earlier today. that did not interrupt the elections in this province. more than 5,000 people are estimated to have come to this polling station alone. old gentleman with turbans and white beards, a number of women has well trickling in. fewer women than the male voters, of course, in part because of the traditional role, rather subserviant role of women in afghan society. the big question now will be the voter turnout, especially in those insurgent-ridden provinces in the south and east of the country. if not enough people came out to vote, that will call in to question the legitimacy of the election itself and of the next afghan government. but reporting here from bamiyan province, where the security situation has been remarkably good in comparison the turnout

has been rather high. ivan watson, cnn, bamiyan in central afghanistan. and while we wait for results on the afghan election, another developing story is the release of the lockerbie, scotland, bombing suspect. there he is right there. taken today to a plane and sent to libya to supposedly go home and die in peace. with us on the phone is burt amerman, who's brother, tom, was on that plane. actually, you're live now. i'm getting to see you. thanks for joining us, burt. i'm wondering what your re -- i know what my reaction was when i saw this supposedly sick guy climb up the stairs of a plane and be set free. what was your reaction? >> well, when the news first came out, i thought it was ludicrous and insane. i couldn't believe anybody with common sense would allow a murderer massacring all those people would ever be released before natural death. as i watched the victory parade

of the convoy of police cars and ambulances going to the plane and watching gadhafi's son come up and welcome him back to a hero's welcome, it looked like the presidential transition with the outgoing president leaving. i expected him to turn around at the top of the steps and salute and go off into the sunset. this is absolutely unacceptable. it's insane. state-sponsored terrorism has won. we weren't even able to keep one individual in -- that was convicted to serve his natural term in prison. >> we have a picture of your brother. he was on a business trip. he was returning home from a business trip when he was killed. there's a young man. what do you think's going to happen in libya? is this guy going to go back as a hero? do you have any idea? >> if he was -- if it was reversed coming back here, we'd have a ticker tape parade for him down broadway to gracie square, so, yeah, he's going back as a national hero. he'll be treated that way. he'll be treated as a martyr. there was bigger than an

individual. this is symbolic that you're telling terrorists that you can outwait the united states and the united kingdom because they're soft. they'll give in eventually. >> so, you think this could lead to worst things down the road potentially. >> if i were a terrorist, i wouldn't be concerned. they already got the passion with the suicide bombers. it's symbolic that the united states can't be strong on anything. the rhetoric we're getting from the secretary of state about how concerned they are. if the united states wants to do something especially in their relationship with the united kingdom, it gets done. so, please don't insult my intelligence. where's president obama? they haven't gotten him out front to speak yet, that speaks volumes as to what's taking place. >> when did you first learn that this day would come, that he would be released? do you have any say? did anyone in your family have any say or speak their piece against it? >> well, basically what they've done ask a dog-and-pony show.

they've had videoconferences so they can say they consulted with everyone. so, i've been through that. i did not attend that. i started to realize this was reality last week, when the drums started to get louder. and then i knew it was a done deal when he dropped his appeals. so, in the last week or two, it became very strong. about five, six months ago when they signed the prisoner transfer agreement. we got concerned. we were told that this most likely would not apply to him. so, it built up slowly, and then as you can see, they moved quickly. i think it's the hope of the governments that the media coverage and the family outrage will go away for two or three days and then we can start getting american businessmen all over libya in the next six months. >> burt amorman whose brother tom was blown up on that plane by that man you just saw going free, joining us live. thank you so much, burt, for your insight and obviously frustration and pain, still to this day, some 20-some years after this took place. >> thank you. >> thanks, burt.

we'll be right back.

senator ted kennedy stricken with brain cancer wants to change the law up in massachusetts to have a speedy replacement if he has to give up his senate seat. the senator is a longtime champion of health care reform. and he's concerned that a lengthy vacancy could deny democrats a crucial vote on reform. kennedy wants an interim replacement appointed ahead of the special election, which in massachusetts is required by law. in a letter to the governor and

other official he says, quote, i strongly support that law and the principle that people should elect their senator. he's talking about the law that allows for a special election. he says, though, i also believe that it's vital for this commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election. president obama pitches health care reform on the air and online today. next hour, the president has an interview with a radio talk show broadcasting from the white house. michael smerconish, generally considered a conservative, but he supported president obama. the vice president on the road today, pushing the administration's plan for health care reform. for more on that, and this fight, let's bring in our national correspondent, jessica yellin. jessica, what's the vice president up to?

>> hey, drew. well, right now, as you can see, vice president joe biden, he's discussing health care reform. he's at a hospital in chicago with doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, it's part of the white house's effort to try and gain the upper hand in this debate. now, so far the vice president has talked about what he called the moral imperative of providing sound health care for all americans, but also the economic imperative, saying it benefits all of us. their argument, if everyone is covered. now, we have a sound bite from him. let's listen real quick. >> only concern is the fiscal side of the equation. you can't get from here to there. without a significant change in bending the health care curve, the cost curve, in order to gain control of our ability to deal with the myriad of other issues that government has to deal with. >> now, that's where the administration would prefer this debate to stay, but instead, as you know, drew, we continue to hear members of congress, from

both parties, getting an angry earful from constituents in town hall meetings across the country. and one common theme all along is this enormous distrust of government. here's just one example. conservative democrat ben nelson of nebraska was holding a town hall yesterday. now, he has not supported a public option. he's not even sure he can support what's been called a co-op. but, still, he was on the defensive. listen to this -- >> this is not specifically directed towards you, but it is directed towards the white house and pelosi, reid, and waxman. as a famous columnist wrote, robert novak, who recently died, he stated, always love your country, never trust your government. and the government that can give you everything, can take everything away. and at this time, senator nelson, i don't trust my government. >> well, look, i understand. what we have to do is make sure that we get it right. and then you can trust it. it's got to be -- it's got to be done right, and there will

always be people who will be opposed to because of -- fill in the blank. and there will be always people out there trying to mislead, for whatever purpose they have. >> all right, drew. he'll be holding another town hall today. we'll also be hearing from some south florida democrats who will be meeting with seniors, and then the big one, nancy pelosi holding her first press conference in some time. we expect her to get asked whether or not the house will pass a version, or could pass a version -- of this bill without a public option. drew? >> jessica, that will be interesting, because she, pelosi, has come up in so many of these meetings across the country. good to hear from her. thanks, jessica, for that. a quick look at the top stories. afghanistan officials say 26 people were killed in election-day violence today. despite that they are saying the national election process was a success. thousands of civilians in mexico have been massacred in drug-related violence. well, today, the u.s. attorney general, eric holder, is hoping to stop that with a dozen new indictments, accusing cartel

leaders, and others, of pumping huge amounts of drugs into the u.s. cities over almost two decades. and the libya man convicted in the bombing of pan am flight 103 is in the air right now, flying home. scotland freed him today because he has terminal cancer. 270 people died right before christmas, 1988, when the plane blew up and rained down on the village of lockerbie, scotland. there's still a lot of action taking place in the atlantic. we're going to get the latest from our severe weather center. my doctor told me something i never knew. as we get older, our bodies become...

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chad myers in the hurricane-tracking center, the severe weather center. you've got both hurricane and severe weather today, right, chad? >> i do. i want to talk a little bit about both, what the hurricane

is doing, what it did overnight. lost a little bit of intensity. down to 120. still a very serious storm, of course, at 120 miles per hour. i want to show you what the models have done as well. there's the storm itself. the islands still well to the south of here, so it is not going to affect the british virgin islands other than waves. u.s. virgin islands, again, but mainly the north shore here. the computer models have tried to take it away from the u.s., and what i typically see here if we're trying to catch a hurricane especially on the outer banks. you think it's coming, it's coming, it's coming. and all of a sudden it keeps turning away with the westerly winds taking it away from the u.s. we'll see if that actually happens. a couple things i wanted to talk about, minneapolis yesterday really hit hard by some wind damage. we don't know yet if it was a tornado. i believe it probably was a treetop tornado. here's some video here. this is an area south of downtown. we'll call it south minneapolis, if you will. right along the street called portland. and then if you go a little bit farther to the east, you've got powderhorn park, and then right

here, the i-35w just east of that. this is kare, our affiliate there, from minneapolis yesterday, taking us to all of those pictures here. also had some pictures from a couple of our i-reporters. and one of our producers was right here in the midst of it. and here is right at the central lutheran church, the sunday worship, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. here, right across the street would be the convention center, and there is debris all over that part of the city. so, what's going to happen here? we'll go back to bill. what do we think's going to happen? well, yesterday, for the very first time, for the very, very, first time, the eastern side of new england was in the cone. it's that cone of uncertainty, the cone of possibility. and so, we will continue to watch this storm try to turn away from the u.s. if it doesn't, it will affect the east coast with some wind. we do know for sure, drew, the biggest effect i think that if it doesn't hit land -- and i don't think it will. the biggest effect, we could have 15-foot waves all the way

up and down the east coast, going over sandbars and making huge, fatal rip currents. the dangerousness of the ocean this weekend can't be stressed more. >> all right, chad. you know, fine line between fun and trouble with those waves. i know a lot of people will be running to the beach hoping to catch some. >> yeah. >> but it can be trouble. >> it can be. and, you know, it's a matter of you have to watch yourself, you have to watch the kids. if you're going to be surfing in this, i don't recommend it, put on a shorty, a flotation device if you are taking out 300, 400 yards, at least you have a flotation device you on. many car dealers say the government's auto industry stimulus program is turning into a clunker. we're breaking it down, next. ae the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪ i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice... what i didn't expect...

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i think i'll go with the preferred package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. if you're trying to track what's goes on in the economy, financial news, stocks, cnnmoney.com, probably the most understandable financial page you're going to find out there. we encourage you to take a look, cnnmoney.com, for all the analysis. we're going to show you what's going on on the big board

right now. stocks up, both, the big board, 34, 35 points, and the nasdaq up about 10 the last time we checked a few seconds ago. there's been a surprise jump in up unemployment claims for the second straight week. the number of laid-off american workers filing new claims rose to 576,000 last week, that's 15,000 more than the week before. not a good trend. economists surveyed by briefing.com expected new claims to actually fall. that cash for clunkers deal could be winding down, just as some dealers are getting fed up with it. they're quitting the program because they say uncle sam is too slow with giving them their money. cnnmoney.com's poppy harlow has our "breakdown" from new york. poppy? >> you know, this comes as quite a disappointment to a lot of folks that might have wanted to take advantage of this program. it might be ending soon. the government we're hearing could announce as soon as today when it will wind down that cash

for clunkers program. and this comes, as you said, as hundreds of auto dealers in the new york area have literally quit the program, and, drew, that's because they say it's taking too long to get reimbursed by the government for those vouchers. it cob up to $4,500 for the trade-ins. they say they just can't afford to wait. take a listen to what they had to say. >> what happened? >> we are getting so frustrated with the administration and the program that they can't continue to exist with it. i mean, this has been a program that's actually probably the best incentive funds, stimulus funds, that the federal government can come up which generated tremendous amounts of foot traffic. the problem are in the details. and the details of this program is a program that's too hard to control. their deal is out hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars, waiting for some indication whether they'll be paid for the cars that they've already sold. >> all right, now, obviously that comes a frustration to the man you see there, transportation secretary, ray

lahood. he's trying to reassure auto dealers, saying they will get the money and that all the dealers will be reimbursed. but as you see, some of them aren't buying and they're pulling out of the program, drew. >> when? they are sitting on inventory foreover. they've got to pay their bills and they aren't getting the money. that's the problem. can people still get in on cash for clunkers? >> yeah. let's be clear. it's not totally over here. no formal announcement yet. but it could be harder if you're seeing more dealers pull out. you're already seeing hundreds pull out in the city of new york. despite some reassurances from the government, the national association of auto dealers say there's a growing risk that more and more dealers might not be reimbursed. they're worried the program could run out of money before reimbursing all the dealers. even what we're seeing, drew, participating dealerships, some people are actually being asked to pay back the voucher money if the deal doesn't get reimbursed. they're being asked to sign a document saying that. another possibility, sometimes this is happening, you make the deal, but the dealer doesn't let

you take home the new car until the dealer gets reimbursed. that is not allowed, folks, if that happens to you, you should immediately report it to the government. but automakers, interestingly enough, of course, right, drew, they don't want the program to end. there's new news today that general motors has announced it will provide cash advances to dealers to cover those vouchers. we'll see if some of the other automakers are going to do the same. but the program is not over. we're watching it, drew. >> yeah, i'm just wondering when it is over, if there will be a slump in sales. all the demand will be scooped up. >> probably, of course, you're probably right. >> poppy, thanks, for keeping us on track. you want to create jobs? one north carolina restaurant owner said he'd create 35 jobs within 3 months if you'd just send him some stimulus money. he just needs a loan. but as cnn's christine romans reports, it's a new, tougher world out there. >> reporter: dinnertime in lumberton, north carolina. >> everything good? >> reporter: restaurant owner, rob redfern. >> we did $1.2 million in 2005.

it's not bad for a small town and a small restaurant. >> reporter: he's got 35 employees, a crowded bar on weekends. a dependable banquette business. five years ago he turned a centuries-old mule stable into this. he's confident he's got the ingredients to open another restaurant, here, 35 miles north on i-95, in fayetteville. >> i'll hire 50 people in 3 months if i get the money that i'm looking for. >> reporter: $150,000 to be exact. >> my issue is that stimulus money that everybody's talking about needs to flow through to small businesses like this one. i don't want a bailout. i just want, you know, to open the door. i'll walk through it myself. >> reporter: but so far, that door is shut. we called bb&t bank, the area's small business lender and asked them why. it turns out redfern's credit score doesn't match his confidence. a spokesperson for bb&t who recently paid back its own $3 billion bailout, we would have turned him down based on his credit history.

redfern admits to bumps in the road that have dinged his credit. this is the new world of lending. >> lenders returned to the old-fashioned lending standards, you know. they're making loans with the expectation that all of them are going to be repaid. >> reporter: that means making fewer loans to only the best applicants, even small business owners like redfern who have had no trouble borrowing money in the past are being turned away. >> we've sort of ended up with the chicken-and-egg situation because the banks don't want to make loans because the small business sectors is having trouble and then they can't get the financing they need to run their businesses normally to expand. >> reporter: the number of new small business loans is less than half what it was before the recession, but the stimulus has helped. the amount of money loans through sba's lending programs has risen 50% since february. ever the entrepreneur, redfern doesn't have the loan, but he still has the fashion. and you look at this parking lot, and you see cars? >> i see it full. >> reporter: and you see a successful restaurant. >> i see it full.

>> reporter: christine romans, cnn, lumberton, north carolina. you can watch more "money & main street" reports tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. well, it is no surprise, the bad economy is impacting people's health. now, one california family faced an even bigger challenge due to state budget cuts. i've helped somebody. feel prewhy wod.ol you know, it makes me d we're offering a solution for a customer that maybe has to choose between paying their credit card or putting food on the table. our main objective is to reach out to the customers that are falling behind on their payments. a lot of customers are proud and happy that bank of america actually has a solution to help them out. i listen. that's the first thing i do is i listen. you know what, what happened? what put you in this situation?

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our top stories now. senator ted kennedy calling for an immediate replacement if he has to give up his seat as he battles brain cancer. he's been a champion for health care reform in congress. he wants to change massachusetts law to allow a temporary successor ahead of a special election to make sure that his state is fully representative and its vote counts on health care. president obama pitches held care reform on air and online today. the president has an interview with radio talk show host at the white house next hour, and later he speaks to reform supporters during a conference call and an online address. afghan officials calling today's national election a

success, despite 26 people being killed in violence across that country. the counting is going on right now, and the taliban had threatened to disrupt those elections. in today's "health care in focus," a family's critical condition. their daughter suffers from a genetic birth defect that has robbed her of the ability to walk, talk, or breathe on her own. now, with looming state budget cuts, the home health care nurses she relies on will be gone. los angeles photojournalist john torego brings us "jessica's story." >> yeah. >> what do we want? >> a balanced budget. >> i'm here to talk about how the home health care cuts might affect my 12-year-old niece, jessica. jessica suffers from a debilitating disease, and she receives home health care through the west side regional center in los angeles. >> good morning.

♪ good morning >> you're looking at a family who when i first met them over a year ago, they were exhausted. they were trying to be caregivers, nurses, doctors. and then get up and go to work during the day and still support their family. we've been able to find out how to take care of jessica. if you told me ten years ago this is what your life is going to be, i would have said we're not capable of that. we don't have the training. we don't have the ability. we don't have the energy. >> the real key was that they all fell in love with jessica and wanted to help. >> do you remember we say carmen's going to the races. who is going to win? >> carmen when she came to us said, i think i can do this, and we were so desperate for somebody to come in. >> i call her my angel. i bathe her, groom her, position her, massage her, to make her comfortable. >> your hair's very pretty. >> i've been her friend for so long that i feel that we've just always had a connection together, so i've wanted to keep

it. once you have a friendship that's big enough like that, you're always wishing for the best for her. >> we finally got everything in place where they can be parents again, which is a wonderful thing, and that's what scares me a little bit about these budget cuts. >> it's absolutely frightening to think what would happen if the services were no longer there. they're absolutely essential to keep jessica going. >> i believe worst-case scenario if the services stopped coming, physically you just cannot do it. you can't 24-hour care give. we also wouldn't have the medicine, the supplies, that are required to sustain her life. >> jessica would like to thank everybody to coming to her 12th birthday party. >> this is her 12th birthday and it was significant, because we don't know how many more birthdays she can celebrate with us. it's just hard to think of not being able to see her anymore, and it comes sad, but it also comes happy that she'll be

happier there. >> just one girl's story out in california. touching. did the u.s. government outsource assassinations to a private contractor? our pentagon team is going to bring us the latest on that story. that's after the break. introducing one a day women's 2o. the first complete women's multivitamin in a drink mix. with more calcium and vitamin d... to support bone and breast health... while helping you hydrate. one a day women's 2o. refreshingly healthy.

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a wave of deadly bombings in baghdad has led to new security measures there today. if you remember, more than 100 people were killed and hundreds more wounded in six bombings yesterday. well, cnn has now learned from the interior ministry that 11 high-ranking security officials have been arrested. the new security measures include additional checkpoints, more stringent vehicle searches and random vehicle stops. the iraqi state television reports the head of the parliament has called for an emergency session just to deal with security issues. the private security company, blackwater, was a major player in iraq during the bush years, and today indications the firm's mission in the region may

have involved much more. cnn's pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, tracking that. what do we know about blackwater, the cia, and this plan? >> well, drew, complicated details now emerging. a source familiar with the program confirms to cnn that in 2004, the cia hired blackwater to work on a program that involved training, surveillance, and, indeed, possibly putting contractors into the field to target and kill top al qaeda leaders. now, the cia doesn't like to call this assassination squads, but that's basically what you're talking about. people that would be trained and go into the field to kill top al qaeda officials. the program ebbed and flowed over the years, we are told. there were never any actual missions in the field that carried out this work, according to officials that we have spoken with, but the program still stayed in play. it was earlier this year that

cia director, leon panetta, stepped in and canceled the whole effort. it was still on the books for a couple of reasons. first, it was never notified to congress. as many people said it would have to have been under the law, and it was moving into that potential operational phase. panetta thought it didn't work -- it would not have worked out. he canceled it. it was all very controversial for two conflicting reasons. one, they wanted to put contractors into the field originally because it would keep a u.s. government face off the program, but if you put contractors into the field to carry out these missions and they get into trouble, you have a diplomatic disaster on your hands. drew? >> barbara, here's what i don't understand. we had soldiers trained to kill people over there all this time, and supposedly chasing al qaeda. >> exactly right. >> why were they outsourcing this? >> yes. why outsource this if you have hundreds, if not thousands, of

special operations forces, army, navy, air force, marines, that are very highly trained and very capable of doing exactly the same thing. it goes back to why would you put this program in place. one reason, take an official u.s. face off of it, because you might be going in to areas like that tribal region of pakistan, where you wouldn't want u.s. military forces at the risk of being caught. but on the other hand, it was a diplomatic disaster from the beginning, because how could you put contractors in there without an official government backing. so, it all became a big mess, and apparently that's why director panetta decided to cancel the whole thing. >> barbara, thanks for staying on top of that. appreciate it. the threatening phone calls, impersonating police? just some of the tactics being used by debt collectors. now, the new york attorney general is suing several collection companies over how they collected debts. cnn's mary snow is taking a look.

>> reporter: michelle minten said she'll never forget the call she got the same day her daughter was diagnosed with autism. a man posing as a lawyer claims she owed $4,400 and said her arrest was imminent if she didn't pay up. >> he was getting very insistent and started, you know, i don't remember all the words, but started talking about your kids will see you arrested. if there's nobody there, fur husband can't make it home, child protective services will have to take your kids. >> reporter: minten wasn't actually in debt, but feeling the pressure, she relented, gave the number of her bank account and lost $900. dorothy gilbert teared up listening to the voice mail left at her home over a $187 bill she'd already paid. >> you are totally ghetto. second of all, ma'am, learn english. get an education. instead of sitting on your fat derrière all day long and making money off of the rest of the free working country, you might want to try to get educated enough to at least be able to

say payment plan instead of payment pan. you uneducated reject. >> reporter: the attorney general cuomo said they are tied to operators of 13 companies he's now trying to shut down in new york. >> the tactics, they are so disturbing, so threatening, that they tend to be effective. that's why they do it. >> reporter: private attorney joe morrow represents debt collection abuse victims. he said there's been an increase in cases tieing it to the economic downturn. >> there is no money to be pulled out of consumers these days, and as that happens, they become more desperate. >> reporter: but the trade group for debt collectors said don't paint them all with the same brush. it estimates rogue ect therers make up 10% of the industry. >> the the harassing phone calls and aggressive behavior is absolutely unacceptable. >> reporter: como filed a lawsuit against several of the companies. we called and they were either

disconnected or out of service. three individuals in buffalo, new york, was also named. we reached a lawyer for one, who said he'll fight the charges. you're in the driver's seat for a head-on collision. you get the driver's view. watch as it crosses the center line and slams the cruiser 50 miles an hour. the officer tried to swerve out of the way, but it all happened in a split second. neither the officer nor the teen driver was seriously hurt, the young driver, though, was cited. criminal charges are not expected. as afghans vote on their future, a filmmaker from that country tries to capture their concerns from a distance. so what do you think?

i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. a lot of afghans live in london. they wanted to get in on this election. at least comment on it, without the fear of bombs or bullets, especially women there. so, zain verjee reports on a film director in the uk who's giving real people a real voice. >> i would just like you to accept me as an afghan. >> reporter: a hooded presidential candidate kicking off his bid for the leadership of afghanistan, from london. sound unreal? that's because it is.

the candidate is a made-for-tv movie, shot on a shoestring budget around britain's capital, so why here? >> well, basically it was a missed opportunity to voice what the afghans want inside or outside afghanistan. >> reporter: he's the movie's afgh afghan-born director. >> the same repressed and fear that afghans have inside the country from the warlords or other particular groups or from the opposition parties of the government. so, they can talk and challenge any issues that are in afghanistan, and they can openly talk about the things that most of the candidates cannot talk in afghanistan. >> reporter: the film's part fiction, part documentary. the candidate himself is an actor reading from a script, but the ordinary people he meets on the campaign trail are just that, real people voicing real opinions. opinions that may be too dangerous to express back in afghanistan.

>> basically voices that woman's view in london, and also talks about role of afghan woman in afghanistan, that how important it is for them to take power and for political and economical and social life in afghanistan and not only let the men run the whole affair. ♪ >> reporter: the "candidate" cost $2,000 to make. most of it for food for the actors and extras. he isn't just the film's director, he's also the writer, cameraman, lighting technician and editor, all rolled into one. a lot of the scenes were shot right here in amini's apartment. "the candidate" has already aired in the u.s. and afghanistan, but amini says his project isn't about commercial success, it's about letting the world hear what afghans think without the fear of violence.